I get a bit drained of life reading and watching various church leader types providing hot-takes on a pandemic as a once in a life-time opportunity to lead, lead, lead, and do, do, do. For all the communication about change, I don’t perceive any change at all, just a redecoration of the tread-mill that seems to be contemporary Christian discipleship. More like a pyramid scheme than an identity.
You might think that the demonstrated uncertainty and disequilibrium of the season could be an opportunity to rest more deeply in our identity in Christ rather than in the outcomes we can achieve.
From Drew Dyck.
It sounds grandiose, I know. The dwelling place of the Lord Almighty. Imagine what we’d think of someone who listed that on his or her résumé. At the same time it seems too simple. Most of us would prefer a spiritual to-do list. If I can maximise my good deeds and minimise my sins, this I’ll be okay with God. It might be hard, but at least it’s tangible. There’s no ambiguity. With enough grit and determination, I can get there. I can do something. But being a dwelling place is a passive exercise. It means simply welcoming God into you life, that you’re a vessel of his presence. Yet that’s also what makes it so freeing. It secures your identity. Being God’s dwelling place means your worth isn’t tied up in what people think about you. Instead of scrambling to collect achievements and accolades, your’re able to rest in the fact that you’re a temple. And a temple doesn’t have to do anything; a temple just is.
You’re never going to be perfect, but you don’t have to be. A temple that’s a little broken down or faded on the outside is still a temple, if God’s presence is there. His presence in you is what matters most.
Drew Dyck, Yawning At Tigers, Nelson Books, 2014, pg 138.
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